Piper PA-32R-300 accident near Santa Rosa, California, October 31, 1997
On October 31, 1997 at about 5:25 pm local time, a Piper PA-32R-300, registered N1655H, was substantially damaged in an accident near Santa Rosa, California. It was a flight of an unrecorded kind under charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135). No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved. The weather was visual conditions (good weather).
The NTSB's probable cause their words, unchanged
Loss of engine power for undetermined reasons.
Source: NTSB aviation accident database, copy made October 5, 2026. Docket and reports at the NTSB.
What the record shows
- Date
- October 31, 1997 · about 5:25 pm local time
- Place
- Santa Rosa, California
- Type
- Accident
- Injuries
- No one was hurt; 1 person was on board or involved.
- Weather
- visual conditions (good weather)
- Aircraft
- Piper PA-32R-300 · all PA-32R-300s on the register
- Registration
- N1655H · no longer on the register · serial 32R-7780170
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Flight of an unrecorded kind · charter and air-taxi rules (Part 135)
The NTSB's narrative final · quoted from the NTSB record
While executing an instrument landing system approach to Sonoma County Airport, the airplane experienced a loss of engine power. The airplane was substantially damaged during a forced landing in a vineyard about 1/2 mile short of runway 32. The on-site FAA investigator stated that there was no smell of fuel when he arrived on scene, but the fire department personnel had reported smelling fuel when they arrived at the scene. Both the left and right fuel gauges read zero when the aircraft master switch was on. There was no indication that the propeller was turning when the airplane struck the ground.
The complete narrative as the NTSB published it. The NTSB's docket holds the report as a PDF and any photographs, statements and other documents from the investigation.
The factual record from the NTSB's investigation tables, in plain English
Pilot
- Certificate: flight instructor, commercial pilot
- Ratings: multi-engine land; single-engine land; instructor: airplane multi-engine; instructor: airplane single-engine; instructor: instrument airplane; instrument: airplane
- Flight time: 1,889 hours in all; 114 in this make and model; 137 in the last 90 days; 57 in the last 30 days; 1,734 as pilot in command; 1,262 on instruments
- Medical certificate: Class 1 (valid medical--no waivers/lim.)
- Seat: left
The aircraft
- Airframe total time: 3,900 hours
- Last inspection: approved inspection programme, October 29, 1997; 1 hours since
- Maximum gross weight: 3,600 lb
- Seats: 2
- Landing gear: retractable
- Engine: Lycoming IO-540-K1G5D (piston); 0 hours total
The flight
- Departed from: OAK Oakland CA at 3:50 pm
- Destination: STS CA
- Flight plan: VFR
- Runway 0
Weather at the time
- Light: daylight
- Wind: from 005° at 5 knots
- Visibility: 7 statute miles
- Sky: scat at 1,000 ft
- Temperature: 64°F (18°C), dew point 61°F (16°C)
- Altimeter: 30.00 inHg
- Observation at 6:15 pm from STS, 1 miles away
Injuries
| Fatal | Serious | Minor | None | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crew | 1 |
Documents from the investigation the NTSB's docket: the evidence folder behind the report
The docket, the folder of records gathered during an investigation (maintenance records, photographs, witness statements, examinations), has not been read from the NTSB for this case yet; the list appears here once it has. Open the docket at the NTSB.
Everything on this page comes from the NTSB's public records. The narrative, probable cause and findings are the NTSB's own words; the coded tables behind the report are written out in plain English, with pilots' ages, home towns and medical details left out. The documents and photographs are the NTSB's docket, shown as the NTSB released them. This site's own text never names anyone involved. A preliminary report can change; the final report usually follows one to two years later, and the page is refreshed when it does.